October 23, 2012 Library of Congress Young Readers Center to Host KidsEuro Events

For the past five years, the embassies of the 27 European Union member states have joined together to bring musicians, actors, puppeteers, dancers and films from all over Europe to the Washington area in a series of programs.

This year, the Library of Congress’s Young Readers Center will host two related events:

• Saturday, Nov. 3, at noon and 2 p.m.: “The Ballad of Pondlife McGurk,” explores how hard it is to be brave and do the right thing when friendship is at stake. This 50-minute storytelling program, sponsored by the United Kingdom, is for kids 9 and up.
• Saturday, Nov. 10 at 11 a.m. and 1:30 p.m.: “The Book Workshop” program will help children transform everyday scrap materials into a picture story. This 90-minute art workshop, sponsored by Italy, is for kids ages 7-11.

The events will be held in the Young Readers Center, Room G-29, located on the ground floor of the Library’s Thomas Jefferson Building, 10 First St. S.E., Washington, D.C. The events are free but require reservations, which can be made through the Kids Euro Festival at www.kidseurofestival.org External.

The Young Readers Center is the first space in the Library of Congress dedicated to meeting the needs of readers under the age of 16. It offers a regular series of storytelling and other programs, as well as a noncirculating library of books for young people and child-friendly access to the Internet.

Since its creation by Congress in 1977 to “stimulate public interest in books and reading,” the Center for the Book in the Library of Congress (www.Read.gov/cfb/) has become a national force for reading and literacy promotion. A public-private partnership, it sponsors educational programs that reach readers of all ages, nationally and internationally. The center provides leadership for affiliated state centers for the book (including the District of Columbia and the U.S. Virgin Islands) and nonprofit reading- promotion partners and plays a key role in the Library’s annual National Book Festival. It also oversees the Library’s Read.gov website and administers the Library’s Young Readers Center.

The Library of Congress, the nation’s oldest federal cultural institution and the largest library in the world, holds more than 151 million items in various languages, disciplines, and formats. The Library seeks to spark imagination and creativity and to further human understanding and wisdom by providing access to knowledge through its magnificent collections, programs, publications and exhibitions. Many of the Library’s rich resources can be accessed through its website at www.loc.gov.